Latest news with #Bhattacharya
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Babulal sheds crocodile tears for tribal land owners, says JMM
Ranchi: JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya on Sunday accused the leader of the opposition and state BJP president Babulal Marandi of shedding crocodile tears for tribal raiyyats (landowners), who are opposing land acquisition for second campus of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (Rims) in Nagri area under the Kanke block. Speaking to media persons on Sunday, Bhattacharya said during Marandi's tenure as chief minister, police firing incidents took place during which people protesting against land acquisitions for projects in Tapkara in Khunti and Neterhaat in Latehar were fired upon. Marandi should apologise for the incidents, the JMM leader said. Notably, Marandi visited Nagri on Saturday and met people, who were opposing Rims-2 in their area. Marandi alleged that the state govt wanted to displace tribals from their agricultural land but he would not allow the acquisition of even an inch without approval of the gram sabha in the villages. Reacting to Marandi's visit and statement, Bhattacharya said so far, the state govt has not issued any notification regarding the place where the new hospital would be built and according to the plan, the new hospital should come up along the ring road. He also claimed that Marandi is raising the issues to serve the interest of one Sunil Sahu. "Details will be provided later on," the JMM leader said. Bhattacharya also said Marandi as the first CM of Jharkhand, adopted the Bihar rules for administering the state which was against the vision of separate Jharkhand for preventing exploitation and protection of tribal identity and rights. He also said during that period, the opposition had demanded the framing of the state's own rules for protecting the tribal land, but Marandi ignored it. "There is a provision in the Land Acquisition and Reform Act 2013 which states that any acquired land not used for five years should be returned to the raiyyats. Marandi must request the BJP-led central govt to return the surplus land of Steel Authority of India Limited, Coal India Limited and Heavy Engineering Corporation in the state," Bhattacharya said. He also took potshots at Marandi saying that when BJP national president and Union health minister J P Nadda called the state's health minister Irfan Ansari for discussions on improving the health facilities in Jharkhand, the state BJP president felt bad about it as he was ignored.
United News of India
13 hours ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Trinamool Congress holds Amit Shah responsible for Pahalgam, demands resignation
Kolkata, June 1 (UNI) Hours after Amit Shah predicted the end of the Mamata Banerjee regime in the 2026 election and formation of the BJP government, West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Sunday charged the Union Home minister with failure to protect country's borders and demanded his resignation holding him responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack. Senior TMC leader and state minister of finance Chandrima Bhattacharya wondered at a media conference how a Home minister of India could utter all "wild" allegations against Bengal when an MP Abhishek Banerjee from here was advocating India's integrity and unity before the global leaders to fight terrorism "We believe the union home minister failed to alert Indian agencies regarding the Pahalgam attack and save country's innocent people and he should resign right now," Bhattacharya said. She also said the infiltration into Indian territory, including in Bengal was a failure on the part of the Union home ministry and the Home minister should accept that first and quit his post. Shah's claim regarding rigging in the election in Bengal was also a "failure" on the part of the Centre since the national poll body conducts the general election, Bhattacharya said. "Elections are conducted under the supervision of Central forces, deployed by the union government and not the state," Bhattacharya pointed out and added "Are you admitting that free and fair elections are not possible even under your watch?" "Don't pass the buck, violence during elections is a failure of the Centre, not the state," the minister reminded. "It seems home minister Amit Shah has a simple rule in life, lie with such conviction that it makes the listener doubt everything they know". she continued She said the Netaji Indoor Stadium, a state government property, was being used to malign the TMC government and dared the BJP ruled states like MP, UP, Gujarat to allow such space to any opposition in the country. "Our leader Mamata Banerjee believe in democracy and has won the people's mandate for the last three times and would achieve the same in 2026," she said. "What did the union home minister say?" asked the senior TMC senior leader, quoting him as saying that if violence does not take place during elections, then deposits of TMC leaders will be forfeited. "What does Mr Amit Sha'h know? The elections will be organised by the ECI, but he blames Mamata Banerjee for the violence," Bhattacharya said, accusing the BJP of politicising every matter to grab power. UNI PC SSP
Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Animal activist fined over 5L for walking dogs in hsg society
Navi Mumbai: A Thane-based animal activist and rescuer, Subhajit Bhattacharya, was fined over Rs 5 lakh for the month of May by his housing society for "walking dogs in the common areas" and other dog-related issues. The activist reacted by stating that it is unfair and unjustified. The Hawaiian Village CHS on Ghodbunder Road in Thane comprises around 100 independent houses or bungalows. Bhattacharya, who runs the NGO 'Shades of Kindness Foundation', takes care of 20 rescued dogs at his bungalow. Since most of these rescued dogs are paraplegic, with certain spinal issues, he reasoned that he must walk the dogs outside. "I moved into this bungalow in Thane around 18 months ago with my 20 dogs. Some society members who do not like dogs have been against my animal welfare work. I have also tried to explain to them that it is natural for dogs to bark or howl. However, my society held a special general body meeting earlier this year and passed a resolution to fine me Rs 2000 every time I take a dog out for walking, and an extra penalty will be charged if any of the society staff are affected by my dogs. This is unfair and harassment on me," said Bhattacharya. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Rugas no pescoço? Esse truque caseiro pode ajudar (Tente isso hoje à noite) Revista & Saúde Saiba Mais Undo The activist has legal support from Pure Animal Lovers (PAL) Foundation, which also feels that such heavy fines on the animal rescuer are uncalled for. "We will send a legal notice to the Thane society because these stiff penalties for walking the dogs are causing mental harassment for Bhattacharya. In our Indian Constitution, Article 51 (A)(g) states that all citizens must show compassion for all animals. Bhattacharya's rescued dogs are also fully vaccinated. Hence, the society is causing unnecessary trouble for him," said PAL's animal rights advisor, Roshan Pathak. When contacted, the chairman of the society, Suresh Mohite, said: "Many society members are having problems because of the dogs kept by Bhattacharya. Bad odour comes from his house, while his kitchen is also unhygienic. One of our watchmen was also bitten by one of his dogs in the common area. Hence, the fines are being charged." However, Bhattacharya replied: "The security guard who was bitten tried to provoke my dog by purposely touching him from behind. My dog was on a leash, and the guard was also drunk. I made sure that he got medical attention. My kitchen is not dirty, as the society is alleging." Meanwhile, Pathak added: "The story of Bhattacharya is also happening at other places in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, where animal lovers and feeders are being harassed by animal haters. We will move court against this to safeguard animal activists and rescuers."
Politico
3 days ago
- Business
- Politico
DOGE's next phase
Presented by Driving the Day WHAT'S NEXT FOR DOGE? The Department of Government Efficiency is continuing its work — even without its leader, Elon Musk, albeit now in a quieter way, POLITICO's Robin Bravender, Danny Nguyen and Sophia Cai report. 'DOGE is at work. They're not going away,' the Office of Management and Budget's director, Russ Vought, told Fox News recently. 'I talk to them every single day.' Yet, in recent weeks, some agency leaders, including those at HHS, have publicly broken with DOGE directives, a phenomenon that could become more widespread as Musk steps away from his role. Today is his last day with the White House. In April, leaders of the National Institutes of Health rolled back DOGE directives that instructed staffers to send weekly emails outlining their productivity and limited purchases and travel on company cards, according to messages obtained by POLITICO. That prompted some staffers to suspect the agency's recently confirmed director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and perhaps others at HHS, were willing to break with Musk and DOGE. Bhattacharya portrayed himself as powerless against DOGE's mass workforce terminations because they landed the same day he joined the agency in April, though he said he would reinstate some procurement staffers who shouldn't have been terminated. The movement at the NIH and other HHS offices weeks after illustrates a more complicated portrait. Since the start of the second Trump administration, at least six DOGE officials with NIH credentials have descended on the agency, and some have slashed scientific research grants and conducted staff reorganizations, terminations and other purported cost-cutting measures, according to an NIH staffer familiar with the matter and granted anonymity out of concerns they would face retribution. Bhattacharya and other HHS leaders have done little to stave off those deeper cuts, said the NIH staffer and another institute staffer who were granted anonymity out of fear of reprisal. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 'strongly supports DOGE's mission and views the team as a critical partner in restoring public trust in our health institutions,' said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon. 'Cutting waste, fraud and abuse at HHS remains a top priority.' The White House, DOGE and Musk did not respond to requests for comment. In July, NIH is expected to submit plans to dramatically consolidate the NIH's information technology departments, where more than a dozen teams are based in various suboffices, even as it remains unclear how much work contractors can backfill, the staffers said. Now, employees have been charged with essentially firing each other by developing plans to slash down the IT departments, said the two staffers. 'DOGE is still hungry,' one of the NIH staffers said. 'We've still got to feed the f–ing dog.' WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE. Quick housekeeping note: This is my (Chelsea's) last edition of Pulse as I am leaving POLITICO for a new opportunity. It's been a pleasure being in your inboxes each morning. Thank you for all the tips, scoops and feedback — please continue to send them to my wonderful colleague Kelly at khooper@ and follow along @Kelhoops. AROUND THE AGENCIES STATE OF THE RIF — CDC layoffs planned for early June are being paused in the wake of a preliminary injunction, two employees at the agency, granted anonymity for fear of retribution, confirmed to POLITICO's Sophie Gardner. CDC employees who were sent termination notices in April received an email from the agency's Office of Human Resources on Thursday, informing them that, because of a preliminary injunction, HHS 'is staying further action on any existing Reduction in Force (RIF) notices, including final separation of employees, at this time.' The laid-off employees will remain on paid administrative leave 'or in their current employment status' until further notice, the email said. An HHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Background: On April 1, amid a massive restructuring of HHS, around 18 percent of the CDC's workforce received termination notices. But legal challenges have complicated the reduction in force and the HHS reorganization, meaning the vast majority of those employees are still technically employed at the CDC, with most remaining on administrative leave. Key context: On May 22, Judge Susan Illston of the federal district court in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction that bars the administration from carrying out the reduction in force across 22 agencies — including HHS — that are defendants in the case. Federal employee unions, nonprofits and local governments are the plaintiffs. The email sent to CDC employees cites Illston's injunction as the reason for the decision. MAHA REPORT CORRECTED — The White House blamed 'formatting issues' for errors in the citations of the recently released Make America Healthy Again report after a media report found studies in it that do not exist. 'We have complete confidence in [Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] and his team at HHS. I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA report,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. Her remarks came after NOTUS reported that seven of the sources cited in the report, which said children's health is in crisis and blamed chemicals, lack of exercise and ultraprocessed foods, don't exist. The report now lists five of its citations as 'corrected' or 'updated,' though that doesn't include the citations NOTUS reported as false. 'Some of the hundreds of citations in the report were formatted incorrectly or mistakenly referenced something other than what was actually intended,' a White House spokesperson told Pulse. 'That said, the content of the report is fully substantiated, and there is nothing in there that cannot be backed up; we did not conjure up any facts. Report has been corrected now.' REPORT: IMPROVE GRANT OVERSIGHT — The NIH must do a better job of providing oversight of ongoing research grants that the agency has awarded to outside entities, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday. The report comes as the federal government slashes a number of NIH-funded grants to research institutions and universities, including those focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has bemoaned bureaucratic bloat at his department for failing to focus its work on the root causes of chronic disease. According to Thursday's report, the NIH spent more than $35 billion supporting 65,000 grants to external entities in fiscal 2023. However, the GAO found that NIH program officers, tasked with tracking recipients' progress, didn't always close out awards when recipients failed to file final reports within a year of the project's end, as required by policy. As of Aug. 2024, nearly 1,000 final reports, or about 0.2 percent of awards made from fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2024, were missing. Their recommendations: GAO called on the NIH to identify the cause of the missing reports, develop an informational resource on how to manage unused award money and require NIH centers to track all unused funds. The NIH agreed with all three recommendations. In Congress FIRST IN PULSE: ANTI-ABORTION GROUP TARGETS GOP — A major anti-abortion group will launch a monthlong campaign in June to urge Senate Republicans to keep anti-abortion language in the sweeping megabill that passed the House. Students for Life Action plans to target 12 GOP senators who they call 'friends and sometimes foes,' the group's president, Kristan Hawkins, said in a statement, 'all of whom are expressing reluctance on the need to set aside our differences to prioritize getting abortion vendors out of our healthcare spending.' Background: The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act narrowly passed the House this month with language in it that would eliminate Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. However, the bill will likely undergo major changes in the Senate when lawmakers return in June. Federal funding already can't fund abortion services. The Republican senators being targeted by the group are: — Shelley Moore Capito ( Susan Collins (Maine)— Ron Johnson (Wis.)— Mike Lee (Utah)— Mitch McConnell (Ky.)— Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)— Rand Paul (Ky.)— Rick Scott (Fla.)— Dan Sullivan (Alaska)— John Thune (S.D.)— Thom Tillis (N.C.)— Todd Young (Ind.) Names in the News Kevin Barstow is joining O'Melveny as a partner in its health care practice group and congressional investigations team. He was senior counsel and special assistant to the president in the Biden White House. The Congressional Budget Office has named its panel of health advisers, who will advise the agency on its analysis of the cost of health care policy. The members are Katherine Baicker, Michael Chernew, Jeffrey Clemens, Heather Dlugolenski, Marisa Domino, Erin Fraher, Craig Garthwaite, Darrell Gaskin, John Haupert, Anne Karl, Lisa Lee, Thomas Lee, Patricia MacTaggart, David Meltzer, Sergio Santiviago, Kosali Simon, Neeraj Sood, Cori Uccello and Melanie Whittington. WHAT WE'RE READING NBC reports on how a new Covid variant could impact cases this summer. POLITICO's Ruth Reader reports on a new CMMI official leading AI.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Making room for squash in a sleepy village
The blaze from the unforgiving afternoon sun bounces off the slick glass squash court, where a bunch of children are walking barefoot, their shoes in their hands. A low, thin wall sits between the modern court — the kind erected in a posh Mumbai club for an international tournament — and a row of concrete houses only recently upgraded from their kutcha status. A group of girls stands under the shade for a mid-day catch up. Bijali Darwada joins them. The 25-year-old has spent a large part of her teenage years across that little wall, hoping to become a national level squash player. Last year, she flew to Sri Lanka for an international tournament. The day after her return, as former squash pro Ritwik Bhattacharya vividly remembers, she sat by the lake, washing clothes. This is not usual for a squash player. Then again, nothing about this squash academy is usual. Nestled in a tiny corner of Maharashtra ringed by the Western Ghats, this countryside is now being swept by a largely urban sport. Kalote Mokashi, a village in Raigad district about two hours from suburban Mumbai, has waterfalls, camps by the lake and getaway farmhouses. It also has a sporting ecosystem that provides local children access to basic infrastructure, means to play sport, and a development path through a game they didn't know existed until 2017. That's when the Squash Temple and Rhythm Training (Start) academy sprung to life in this sleepy village, with Bhattacharya, India's former top-ranked pro and holder of nine Professional Squash Association (PSA) world tour titles, making Kalote Mokashi his home. Calling this academy their home are around 80 kids from this village of less than 500 people. From here, 46 alumni are ranked nationally and eight flaunt a PSA ranking. No one has won a championship yet, but pursuing a life that pulls them away from the norm of picking up odd jobs to make a living is transformative. 'Out of 100 kids, even if 10 go on to excel in squash, the other 90 have been upgraded with exposure,' Bhattacharya said, cutting through the sound of squash balls hitting the wall. 'It has required patience, but there's a social change element that has come out of this journey.' Start of the journey Over the past two decades, India has made steady strides in squash, with stars such as Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa, and Bhattacharya breaking into the global elite levels in the sport. In the 2023 Asian Games, the Indian contingent won five medals. But squash has usually been a game for the privileged. The idea of Start started germinating soon after Bhattacharya retired in 2010. Having turned to coaching and running a few programmes in Mumbai, Bhattacharya was at the mercy of kids' free time and clubs' court availability. 'I'd train them for one hour in the morning and evening. In the city, I felt like I was just sitting and waiting. Plus, I was a little tired of coaching just one segment of society,' he said. Squash is a sport brimming with players of affluent backgrounds, with scholarships in American colleges a lucrative bypass. Why, then, think of taking it rural? 'Because the talent is here,' Bhattacharya said. 'We have to take the institution to their doorstep and bridge this urban-rural divide, by not expecting them to go to Mumbai or Pune for training.' On one of his weekend trips, Bhattacharya found himself in Kalote Mokashi, where his friend and eventual co-founder of the academy Munish Makhija lived. Makhija showed Bhattacharya the vacant two-acre plot of land, which the squash star acquired in 2011. For a few years thereafter, Bhattacharya would visit Kalote Mokashi frequently to spend days playing football and weekends trekking with the village kids. It helped break the ice. In 2015, the thought of building a squash court was planted, which bore fruit two years later with an all-black indoor court. 'We built all the infrastructure employing people from the village,' Bhattacharya said. The academy was up and running, so was the kids' enthusiasm to learn something new. It was was set up with the help of co-founders Munish Makhija and Sridhar Gorthi. In the years since, much of their funding came from private companies' CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). It helped them add a glass court in 2023. 'Before this, we would spend our days just attending school and roaming around the forest,' said Krushna Darwada, 21. Luxman Pokale, 23, faced a common demand from his family after finishing school: 'Ab bade ho gaye ho, kuch kama lo (now that you're old enough, start earning)'. He'd pick up odd jobs to bring home some money. 'Ritwik sir told me to come and play here. Whatever you're earning there I will pay you',' he said. Live, breathe squash None of these kids had even heard of squash. Bhattacharya began by showing videos and then teaching them to hold a racquet. 'Then he taught us how to serve, how points are won, and so on,' said Bijali. 'I enjoyed it so much that I would be here the whole day after school.' That's essentially what Bhattacharya yearned for — a place where kids can live, breathe and eat squash and sports. The 45-year-old resides in the village. So does Karan Sharma, a fitness trainer. The kids have a fitness session in the morning and two squash sessions a day, the second largely involving matches. The glass court came up in 2023, and both courts are open 24x7. Sharma has seen kids ghosting (practicing court movement without a ball) even past midnight at times. Eight are now ranked on the PSA tour, and 74 have participated in junior and senior nationals over the years. From being confined to Kalote Mokashi, they've gone to Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Ajmer, Chennai, Delhi to compete. Add Sri Lanka to Bijali's travel diaries, at an age when most girls in her village are married. 'It was such a different experience,' Bijali, ranked 352 in the PSA charts, said. They also get to interact with players from other backgrounds who often visit. Akanksha Salunkhe, the world No.72 who Bhattacharya coaches, often stays at the academy. Current India women's No.1 and fast-rising Anahat Singh has also been here. Young talents Nirupama Dubey and Gurveer Singh, as well as former Italian pro turned coach Stephane Galifi, are frequent occupiers of the four rooms at the academy reserved for visitors. Brush with pros The Delhi-based Gurveer was in Kalote Mokashi for a two-week training block in April. The 17-year-old has made periodic visits since 2021, when he felt his game style needed reinvention. His training under Bhattacharya is a lot more specific, which the village kids get to see. They've also realised what squash's inclusion for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics means, with the LA 2028 logo painted on the tin of the glass court. 'They get the excitement around it,' Bhattacharya said. ' Akanksha is training here for that, so are the likes of Gurveer and Nirupama. They're seeing and understanding how much I'm pushing them.' Village kids are assigned to take the city trainees for treks; a physical test they are inbuilt to ace (Bhattacharya said they can climb a nearby mountain in 20 minutes). In turn, from the pros, they pick up squash's technical nuances. 'I observe how they train, their technique, how they keep their mind relaxed between games,' said Sadashiv Shingwa, 23. Village upliftment All of the academy's employees are from the village. 'Out of the 80 families here, at least 40 are directly involved with us,' Bhattacharya said. The academy has Wifi and washrooms that villagers have access to. Trainees can have meals at the academy, and eggs await any village kid at 5pm. 'There's still some malnutrition. But they're stronger, taller, fitter now,' Bhattacharya said. Bijali, richer for the taste of outside life, also sees the change. 'The village is a lot cleaner. Anyone who throws plastic now, we pick it up,' she said. 'With squash,' 21-year-old Raju Shingwa added, 'people in our village are getting a glimpse of how life is outside.' Inside this little ecosystem, the chain reaction is already in motion. The academy's first batch players have started to teach the younger children, who come in as early as six. Most trainees also bring their brothers and sisters along. 'I've also gone to nearby villages asking them to come here,' Bijali said. Beyond their personal growth and the village's development, Bhattacharya reckons it's a matter of time that someone from Kalote Mokashi takes the step up in elite squash. 'Our goal is to scout four guys and girls to join the PSA tour,' he said. 'I really believe that in 2-3 years, we'll have eight players ranked in the top 100 from this village.'
